I volunteer for a local Habitat for Humanity Home Store where I clean, test and repair major appliances that are donated to us for resale. We received a Whirlpool Duet Sport, with a note that said hot water did not ever work and cold water was slow. We tried to start the machine, but after it powered up and we selected the normal wash cycle it would not start the cycle. The door locked and the "Add a garment" light came on. We have the service manual on this machine. The service manual says if the door will not unlock press PAUSE/Cancel once and it will unlock. This did not unlock the door and the machine will still not start. Questions:

1. I assume the machine is "brain dead", that is, the central control unit is shot. Is there any other possibility?

2. Is there any way to test the main control board before purchasing a new one?

3. Any suggestions on how to unlock the door (we tried turning off power, unplugging, plugging back in etc) so we can get our test laundry load out?

I would check the machine according to the tech sheet that is tucked inside the cabinet. There are lots of diagnostic tests that you can perform from the control panel, plus directions to check the OHMs in the door lock solenoid, etc. Remember that the first thing this machine does when you turn it on is lock and unlock the door and cycle the dispenser motor. The Duet sport manual is below, so download it and do yer homework before you order parts!

We tested the control unit per the instructions and specifications in the service manual and determined several parts of the board were not at spec. We will order a new board part # W10246289 and hope that it will fix the problem.

Thanks for all the help. I have been doing this a while and you would think I would be smarter by now, but front loaders are pretty new to where I work.